Brethren
by TB's LMC
Summary: Left behind on Cybertron when Optimus and his team left, a group of Autobots discovers they are not as alone in the Universe as they thought themselves to be. But their new home Earth holds dangers of its own, even after Megatron's defeat.
1. Prologue

_Time Frame: The following story takes place in the universe of the 2007 'Transformers' movie, including characters, character descriptions and incidents portrayed in that film. This assumes the second movie (and third) did not occur._

_Author's Note: This story was written for the Alternate Universe challenge in 2011 for Tracy Island Writers Forum. Challenge: To take the characters from the 'Thunderbirds' television series and place them into an Alternate Universe. I have reinvented them here as 'Transformers' movie characters. This is **not** a crossover, it's a 'Transformers' story._

_Acknowledgement: Thank you to my incredible beta, Samantha Winchester, for dropping everything to get through this on time to meet the challenge deadline!_

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**Brethren**

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**Prologue**

Before the time of The Great War, we lived in peace. For five million years, we fought hard, as one by one the Guardians were destroyed. We lost many to the battle. My brother took his most trusted officers, who had sworn their allegiance to him, into space, searching for the energy our once vibrant home planet Cybertron had lost. We never saw or heard from them again.

For hundreds of years, my own officers and I have fought to escape the underground where we were forced to hide by the Decepticons. We lost two comrades in the process, but were galvanized by the hope that when we emerged, it would be to see Cybertron restored. To see that Optimus Prime had returned with the energy. That he and the Autobots had ended the war at last and that peace reigned again.

But it was not to be…


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Beacon and the Decision**

Darkness greeted him. He lifted the gigantic metal lid covering the exit they had managed to reach without being besieged by Decepticons. His high hopes sank deeper than where they'd been imprisoned as one by one the others emerged. He moved several paces away, setting eyes on the surface of their home for the first time in millennia.

The only lights were odd ones here and there within his line of sight, which denoted others on the move. For all intents and purposes, Cybertron was dead. He looked up at the night sky and noted with no small measure of alarm that the star patterns were completely different than those he remembered.

"Brains," he said quietly, motioning the scientist to his side. When the smaller Autobot approached, he pointed upwards. He saw the recognition in Brains' face as soon as his eyes had followed his outstretched hand.

"We have shifted o-out of orbit," Brains stated, matter-of-factly.

Shaking his head as he listened to his friend's stammer, he wondered if he would ever get the poor bot's vocal processors fixed properly.

"Pius, I-I must access a knowledge base, ah, immediately." He cocked his head. "A-And don't worry about my, ah, vocal processors. I rather like the, ah, way this makes me sound…"

"Different?"

Brains nodded as Pius's second in command approached. "Surely you realize there's a planet-wide blackout? We spent all these endless years trying to escape, and for what? You won't get any information out of _this_ pile of junk."

"This pile of _junk_ is still our home," Pius said evenly.

"Some home," Commander replied.

"Pius, I'm picking up a strange signal," came a voice from another Autobot who approached them.

"What sort of signal, Lingo?"

"It seems to be a distress call, but it's on a frequency that wasn't in use on Cybertron the last time we were above ground."

"Let me hear it."

There was an audible click, followed by a melodious set of six notes in a repeating pattern. Within the first few seconds Pius knew what he was listening to. "Where is it coming from?" he asked excitedly, drawing looks of confusion from his comrades. "Quickly!"

"Not far. I'll home in on it. Follow me."

"Everyone stick close together," Pius said, waving his arm in a sweeping gesture. "We don't know if there are still Decepticons up here or not."

There were a few mumbles and grumbles, but they obediently fell in behind him as he took off to follow Lingo.

In no time at all they reached their destination. There was a tall, tall tower standing with a silver oval structure perched at the top. Pius looked at Lingo, who nodded once. Nodding in return, Pius engaged his rockets and shot straight upward, flames and exhaust blasting from the soles of his metal feet.

He reached the oval structure and found an open hatch. Cautiously, he entered, rockets clicking off as he walked carefully across the debris-littered floor. Surrounding the entirety of the wide-open interior were computer banks and monitors, alongside other technology he wasn't familiar with.

That was when the tiniest spark of blue caught his eye. It emanated from one of the smaller screens near the top bank of monitors. He hurried to it and stood before it silently for a moment, knowing whatever this message contained would change the course of his life forever.

Pius slid open a small door on his chest and a metal arm shaped like a 7 emerged with a rapidly rotating sphere on the end of it. As soon as it settled into place the blue spark from the screen leapt from its spot and onto the sphere. It glowed and turned faster and faster before exploding in a blaze of white and blue light.

When the light faded there was a holographic image standing in its place. The symbol on its chest told him it was an Autobot, but it was one who looked unfamiliar in terms of appearance. He reached out, knowing he wasn't real, but unable to resist the urge he had to connect.

The image spoke._ "Brother."_

"Optimus?" he breathed in disbelief.

"If you are hearing this message, it can only mean my officers and I never returned to Cybertron."

"Optimus, you look so _odd_," Pius said, though he knew the image couldn't hear him.

"I'm sure I must look strange to you, Pius, but hear my words and believe it to be me."

Optimus always had known exactly what he was thinking. And the reverse was equally true, with good reason.

"The Ark was destroyed and we found ourselves on a planet called Earth. Embedded within this hologram are our coordinates. We are attempting to find the All Spark which we learned is somewhere here on this planet."

"The All Spark! It can't be!"

"If Cybertron is still at war, Brother, I urge you to tell no one but those you trust with your own life of our discovery. There are humans on this planet and it would take very little effort for their race to be extinguished."

The holographic image of Optimus Prime turned to the side as though listening to someone off-camera. Then it turned back to face him.

"Go with caution, Pius. Brother to brother."

"Eye to eye," Pius said wistfully.

"_Mind to mind."_ Optimus raised his hand to the cover the door over his chest and Pius mimicked it. _"Until we are reunited."_

The holographic image winked out and instantly he felt bereft. He hadn't realized how much he missed his creator. For Pius was none other than the one and only clone of Optimus Prime, although he had always been treated as an equal by the benevolent leader.

He turned at a noise behind him, readying the blaster mounted to his right arm. He powered it down when he saw who it was. "Chitchat," he said. "You shouldn't sneak up on me."

"Sorry, Pius," came a distinctly female voice. "But we're all wondering what's going on."

"I'm coming to tell you all now. Join me."

Chitchat nodded and the two used the rockets in the soles of their feet to fly back down to the surface of Cybertron. She moved to stand next to Speed, placing her hand upon his arm. Pius approached the group and told them of the message from his brother, then waited as they digested it.

It was Tank who spoke first. "Are there any other Autobots left here?"

"A-A few," Brains confirmed, checking his scanner. "But I'd say less than, ah, a hundred. I-It's more Decepticons now."

"Pius, what's the plan?" Commander asked.

"I have only a plan for myself."

"What?" Speed asked. He was the youngest Autobot among them, and prone to acting before thinking about the consequences. "You've been planning for all of us for thousands of years, why stop now?"

"Because I cannot ask any of you to make this journey."

"What journey?" Lady, the second of only three female Autobots in existence, asked from her spot near Tank.

"I must find this Earth of which Optimus spoke. If the All Spark is there, it's easy for me to believe he will need help, for the Decepticons will surely also make their way to that small planet."

"Well, how far away is it?" Aquos, yet another of his most trusted officers, asked.

"I have never heard its name before," Pius replied, "and therefore do not know."

"You aren't making a trek like that yourself. It could be hundreds of thousands of years' journey away," Commander said with an edge to his voice.

"You just don't want to miss out on any action," said an older Autobot affectionately called Grandma.

"That's not it at all. Pius goes _nowhere_ without me. Period."

Pius nodded reverently at the loyalty of his second-in-command. "That's two."

"Make it three," the final member of the team said quietly.

"K-12? Are you sure?"

"Of course, Pius. I am an Autobot of peace, but to send you into the unknown without my wisdom and counsel would be an unwise move."

"Well, then, I'm going, too!" Grandma said with a frown in K-12's direction. "You're not the only one who can give advice," she muttered.

Pius smiled.

"We're with you, too," Speed said, elbowing Aquos.

"What?" Aquos was elbowed harder. "All right, all right, of course we're in."

This left Tank, Lady, Chitchat, Brains and Lingo.

"Where Speed goes, I go," Chitchat said. Pius couldn't help but smile. There was an odd connection between her and his youngest officer, but he'd never really had time to stop and think about what it was or what it even meant.

He looked at the remaining Autobots gathered there with him. All were nodding their heads and Pius felt great pride. They had spent so much time together fighting, protecting each other, and looking for a way out of the underground of Cybertron that they had become quite close. He wasn't surprised none of them would let the others out of their sight.

"If you are all certain that you wish to join me on the quest for my brother—"

Commander stepped forward and placed a hand in the air to silence him. "We are _all_ brothers, Pius." He looked at the three females. "And sisters. Where you go, we _all_ go."

His statement drew vigorous nods from everyone and Pius felt as though his chest plate might just explode from his body. "Very well," he said. "First we must discover where exactly Cybertron is now in the universe," he continued. "And then we will make our best guess as to a flight path using the coordinates Optimus provided."

Pius looked on as Brains, Tank, Lingo, Chitchat and K-12 turned their eyes skyward. He wasn't going to kid any of them. This journey promised to be difficult at best, downright deadly at worst. But whatever came their way they would face together, as they had since they had first become a team such a very long time ago.

Slinking along in the shadows of tall metal buildings lining narrow debris-littered streets, he was careful to keep his titanium feet from kicking anything in his path, from scuffing into the sides of buildings or larger objects that blocked what used to be bustling byways.

A reddish glow emanated from his eyes. Every inch of his body was as black as night, albeit scarred by years of doing battle. He listened as their voices drifted through the still air, and his auditory circuits processed the words with no small measure of disbelief.

Optimus Prime was alive! And not only was he alive, he had found the location of the All Spark. To possess the Cube would be to rule _both_ Autobots and Decepticons. He felt himself grow heady at the very idea of wielding that much power. This was very thing he needed to claim what he had always sought: the ability to rule the universe.

He would wait patiently. After all, what were a few more hours or days when he had been waiting for millennia? And if things worked out as he hoped, not only would he be able to get his hands on the All Spark, he'd be able to put an end to the Primes, those do-gooder brothers who had been a mighty lug wrench in the Decepticons' gears for far too long.

He flattened himself into the shadow on the smooth side of skyscraper as his processors began working overtime, planning how he was going to play this. Pius Prime and his pathetic ragtag bunch would lead him to victory at last. He just had to be careful to stay out of sight until the time was right to strike.

Demon was more than ready for the challenge.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Earth**

Their internal clocks knew that exactly one thousand three hundred and eighty five years, fourteen days, three hours and twenty-two minutes had elapsed since they had left Cybertron. But to them it really didn't seem like that long a time, considering how many years they'd been trapped in their planet's underground.

And truth be told, while the journey had been fraught with danger and they'd had some misadventures along the way, there'd been only one casualty, and that was Chitchat's voice. Pius had worked on it every time they'd stopped on some planetoid or space rock to rest, but thus far had not been able to get her vocal processors back on-line. This left her in the awkward position of having to try to convey what she wanted to say with her hands.

Speed found it highly amusing - until he wound up on the receiving end of Chitchat's laser cannon. It took half a day to repair his right leg. Pius was not amused, but Aquos was, until Speed's injured leg knocked him in the side of the head and he had to replace a few minor parts as a result.

"Kids," Pius murmured with only the smallest measure of annoyance. They were all weary, and while his own faith in his brother had not wavered, he'd begun to feel the lack of certainty amongst his officers. And he could not blame them. Yes, all Autobots were brethren. But none were as close as the Primes, partially due to one being the clone of the other. And it was only that surety of will and purpose that drove Pius relentlessly forward.

They had been able to follow a seemingly random trail thus far. From galaxy to galaxy as they traveled, they always discovered remnants of what could only have been Autobots or Decepticons. They had just entered a new galaxy and were overdue for rest and re-energizing.

It was as they passed through the second arm of this next in a long succession of galaxies that Lingo and Brains excitedly told Pius of a hunk of rock roughly the same size as their own beloved Cybertron. There was a live Autobot signature coming from it and readings indicated there was more energy on this space body than ever could have been hoped for.

"Could that be Earth?" Lady asked incredulously as they drew near.

"No," Pius said. "Optimus indicated that Earth belonged to a race of beings called humans. There are no other life forms showing on our scans."

"How disappointing," Lady said quietly as they changed trajectory to enter at a thirty degree angle to the surface.

"This will put us, ah, very close to the signature," Brains said as they skirted the rock's upper atmosphere.

It was with no small amount of trepidation and yet also with great hope that Pius led them to land on the jagged surface. "There," he said once all had reached the surface. He pointed ahead of them and slightly to their left as a small white nearby star bathed the surface in its soft glow.

It was a bright yellow color, surprising all of them. Robots didn't look that way back on Cybertron. Pius was reminded of how different Optimus had looked in his hologram message. Shaped rather like a square but with a front that protruded and four odd black soft circular items beneath it, this being was silent and looked nothing like an Autobot should. And yet their instrumentation told them it _was_ an Autobot and that it was very much alive.

"Tank, you're with me," Commander said, and the two of them moved cautiously toward their target. They readied weapons and reached the Autobot in short order. "Identify yourself," Commander ordered the tangle of metal and circuitry.

Quick as lightning it unfolded, changing from what it had been to a giant living robot. A giant living _Auto_bot. Both Commander and Tank were taken aback and prepared to fire at the unexpected change, but suddenly Commander spotted something and held out a hand to stop Tank's aggression.

Commander turned to look back at the rest of his group and waved Pius forward. He approached and looked the yellow one up and down as he came to stand in between Tank and Commander. "He has the Autobot symbol on his chest," Commander explained to his leader.

Pius looked the stranger up and down. "I am Pius Prime," he said by way of introduction. "Who are you?"

"Pius Prime?" the yellow one repeated. "You can't be serious."

"I am. This is Commander," Pius continued, gesturing to his left, "and Tank," he finished, gesturing to his right. "The rest of my officers are behind us."

"Pius Prime," the yellow Autobot breathed, shaking his head. "After all these years. We didn't believe him."

"Didn't believe who?" Tank asked.

"My brother," Pius said with certainty.

The yellow one nodded. "Yes. My name is Ratchet, and I am with Optimus Prime."

"Ratchet? Are you serious?" Tank said. "You don't look a thing like you used to!"

"I am pleased to see you as well," Ratchet smiled.

"Is Earth near to us then?" Pius asked hopefully.

"Not far, the other side of the center of this galaxy," Ratchet replied. "I have taken the first watch on this side for approaching Autobots, but I never…I just can't believe you're here."

Pius smiled. "We are, and we'd be very grateful if you would show us the way to Optimus and your colleagues."

"It would be my pleasure!" Ratchet grinned, tipping his head and saluting. "But first you'll need to transform."

"Transform?" Commander said skeptically. "What does that mean?"

"Like me," Ratchet said. A series of mechanical sounds filled their auditory sensors as the being with a head, body, arms and legs returned to the form they'd earlier seen him in. He was bright yellow with red markings, parts of him black and parts with small round transparent circles covering his chest and on both sides of his head. There was lettering on his sides as well indicating he was a rescue vehicle. "You must take on the form of an Earth machine in order to blend in with that world."

"Where do we find these machines?" Pius asked.

"I'll take you to a place in the Nevada desert where we have organized many choices for incoming Autobots," Ratchet said. "Shall we go now or do you need to energize first?"

Pius turned back to where his weary comrades were in various stages of rest not far away. "Energize first," he replied. "Then we go."

"Come with me, I'll show you where the energy stores are. We stockpiled them for arriving Autobots. After traveling all the way here we know they will need a boost before they reach Earth." He led them to a large crater which was filled with multi-colored and brilliantly lit Energon cubes.

Pius let out a high-pitched whistle which called his team to his side. He pointed down into the crater. "Enjoy, my friends," he said as their faces lit up. "You deserve it." Every last one of them was in the crater and latched onto an Energon cube before Pius had even finished speaking. He turned to Ratchet. "Tell me of this transforming."

"It takes a significant amount of energy," Ratchet said. "The humans know we're among them, but it's less concerning to them if we stay in our transformed state, as vehicles familiar to them, as much as possible. You choose what you want to be, take its pattern by scan, and become that. I'm a Hummer H2 rescue vehicle."

"When I saw the hologram of Optimus, he looked strange to me. Perhaps this is why."

"He's an 18-wheeler; also known sometimes as a semi, a truck or a tractor-trailer. He travels mostly without a trailer," Ratchet explained as he watched Pius's officers get their fill of energy below them. "Go," he said, gesturing to the crater. "You deserve to have some too, Pius."

"My team goes first," he said.

"You're just like Optimus!" Ratchet said with a shake of his head. "I'll be here to defend against any Decepticons who come our way. Go for it, will you?"

"Go for it?" Pius questioned, and then looked down at the others. "Ah," he nodded, comprehending. "Yes, I believe I shall…go for it."

Ratchet grinned and winked as Pius descended into the crater. It wouldn't be long now until the Primes were reunited.

He shook his head. They were there. They were _all_ there; all those Optimus had feared were dead. _Wait_ until he brought them to Optimus, Bumblebee and Ironhide. They were _never_ going to believe this!

It took a few seconds for Ratchet to realize they were no longer following him. He stopped and turned. They were simply hovering above the planet, each and every one of them staring. He wondered if, like he did, they admired the natural beauty of its blues, greens, browns and wispy whites.

Or maybe like Optimus, they felt that its freshness, its very _alive_ness, meant hope.

Or perhaps they felt what Bumblebee had found with the humans Sam and Mikaela: love. It was somewhat of a foreign concept to Autobots, and yet they understood it. Ratchet frowned, realizing he wasn't sure what Ironhide thought of Earth. He'd have to ask him once all the impending excitement died down.

Pius was thinking about the small planet representing a new hope for his officers and himself…about the possibilities represented by the All Spark and of the reunification with his brother. Commander eyed it skeptically, wondering what manner of danger there might be which he had to protect the troops from. Tank saw the utter beauty of its intricately swirling cloud cover, its jagged shores, and the varying shades of blue. He was transfixed.

Poor Chitchat could do nothing but gesture wildly and grow more and more frustrated that no one was even trying to interpret her strange sign language. Even Speed was ignoring her in the face of the blue and white marble hanging before them, where normally he never left her side. Grandma watched each of the others and smiled to herself. She and she alone remembered what Cybertron had been like at the beginning, and was so glad these youngsters now had the opportunity to view something like it.

Brains was busy running calculations on his built-in mega processor regarding air quality, geological composition and what lay at the center of the slowly revolving sphere called Earth. For his part, Lingo was far too busy receiving and trying to interpret the multitude of languages he heard from all over the planet. He'd never before encountered such a variety of methods for communicating as he was picking up now, and was completely lost in just listening to them all.

Aquos could not stop staring at all the _water_. For reasons unbeknownst even to him he had always preferred the water over land or air travel. He could fly with the best of them, but when they'd traveled in the past to other space bodies which contained liquid on their surfaces he'd been perfectly content to feel it caress his metal body, to enjoy the strange sensations, the differences in feel it had to regular air or the vacuum of space. Speed had wanted to start calling him Leaky Bucket but Pius had put a quick end to that idea.

As for young Speed, all he could think about was the vast expanses of what appeared to be wide-open land and how _fast_ he could go. Cybertron was so damn limiting, with buildings everywhere you turned, and nowhere to get up to a good clip. He couldn't wait to get down there and just _go_. Lady's face was unreadable. She was uncertain about this new place, but mostly concerned about these creatures called humans. Appearances were ever so important, she felt, and she looked like scrap metal. How she wished for a proper cleanup before they ventured down to the surface.

Pius turned to K-12 and their blue eyes met. "What do you think, old friend?"

"It speaks of peace," K-12 replied. "But I sense something sinister hiding within the veil and caution you, Pius, against becoming too comfortable."

Nodding, Pius turned to Ratchet, who had rejoined them. "All right, let us see this place where we will find these Earth vehicles and transform," he said.

Ratchet nodded in return, and gestured for them to follow him down.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Transformers!**

They had never seen the like.

As far as their scanners could reach was every manner of metal contraption known to humans over five hundred square miles of leveled scrub desert. There were acres and acres of choices, placed carefully and deliberately in the midst of the Nevada desert to give Autobots new to Earth a place to start learning how to live on Earth.

From land-based transports to those specifically made for air travel. From machines which could travel both atop and beneath water to those which had multiple uses. Row after row greeted them, almost overwhelming Pius's team as they gathered at the edge of the vast lot of Earth vehicles.

"Any restrictions on what we can choose?" Commander asked as they stared around them in wonder.

"No," Pius said uncertainly. "Although I would caution practicality."

"All right, everyone, scatter, find your vehicle, imprint it and meet back here in thirty minutes."

Some of Pius's officers moved quickly away, processing the chip Ratchet had passed to each of them explaining what the vehicles all were, what their uses and purposes were, why they'd been created in the first place. Others simply walked slowly, contemplating the vast pool of vehicles from which to choose and wondering how they could possibly make that choice in so short a time.

But orders were orders, and you didn't argue with Commander.

"The vehicle Optimus chose," Pius stated to Ratchet once the others were out of earshot, "the 18-wheeler. Is there one of these vehicles here?"

"Yes, but not one like Optimus has. His paint job is custom."

"Paint job?"

Ratchet grinned. "Here, there are a few of them this way."

Thirty minutes passed far too quickly. Pius was the first to return to the large parking lot, Ratchet had called it, with the bright yellow transformed Autobot by his side.

"It's odd," Pius remarked, feeling the rubber tires beneath him and the disjointedness of the trailer he hauled. "But in some strange way I find it pleasing."

"You look amazing," Ratchet said with a smile. "Just like Optimus."

"Only differently colored," Pius pointed out. "My base is copper where that of my brother is blue. My flames are gold where his are red."

"Good contrast, but very shiny. You'll be blinding when the sun comes up."

There was a sound above them, a high-pitched whine that grew louder and louder. Suddenly a light blue and gray F-22 Raptor fighter jet dive-bombed them and twisted back into the air before coming in low again. Landing gear appeared and it braked to a fast stop not too far away.

"Commander?" Pius asked curiously.

There was a strange mechanical sound and the Raptor morphed into a gigantic light blue and gray Autobot, the symbol clearly displayed upon his chest. "Yes, sir!" he saluted. His two upright tail fins became quasi-wings where shoulder blades would be on a human, with the larger main wings jutting straight out from either side anchored to what would have been his spine.

"Nicely done," Pius said. He thought about transforming and soon the mechanical sounds were being given off by his own changing body as the trailer detached from his cab. The cab's parts shifted, moved, twisted and turned until he was standing at equal height with Commander, who nodded approvingly.

A ground-shaking rumble grew louder and nearer. From Commander's left appeared an oversized shamrock green armored super-heavy tank. Before it came to a full stop it was transforming, dual caterpillars forming the backs of two arms. The turret-mounted cannon became a shoulder weapon and a head flipped forward out of the body to complete it.

Pius grinned. "Tank. How appropriate."

"I thought so," he nodded, winking at Commander who was very near to smiling himself.

In contrast to the fancy choices of the three who'd gathered, the fourth that rolled up was a relatively plain-looking black vehicle with a small truck cab in front and a large rectangular back end, also shiny black. There was a banner on the side that was lilac in color and said "MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS VEHICLE." Beneath that, in the same lilac, was "COMMAND 3" and above the banner was printed "NORTH AMERICAN ADMINISTRATION."

"And if I'm not mistaken," Tank said, thoughtfully putting hand to chin, "that would be Lingo." The black truck mechanized and transformed into a hulking black Autobot with lilac highlights. "But what's with the color, man?"

Lingo shrugged. "Well, Chitchat was in charge of that. You know females."

"Unfortunately," Tank snorted. "Especially her."

"I heard that, Tank," Lady barked as she pulled into their midst. "And I will thank you _not_ to comment on either Chitchat's _or_ my choice of colors."

The males looked at her and then at one another in disbelief. "How does that 'blend in,' exactly?" Lingo asked, his eyes wide.

"Maybe you should've been more restrictive with their choices," Commander offered quietly as Pius's jaw dropped.

While compared to the other vehicles she was small, there was no mistaking the extremely feminine vehicle that sat before them as anyone other than Lady. It was a brutally pink Rolls Royce with a long, long front, a glass-domed windshield, white leather seats and a license plate that read FAB 1.

"What the devil's FAB 1?" Tank asked.

"It's short for fabulous," Lady huffed as she transformed. Somehow to Pius it seemed she did so far more elegantly than the rest of them.

"Well, it's also a military acronym," Lingo said authoritatively, "which stands for Fast Atom Bombardment among other things."

"Perhaps you'd like to see how fast your atoms can be bombarded?" Lady asked sweetly, causing Lingo to take a step back. "I thought not. Now you know Chitchat's vocal processors are damaged, but here she comes now, and _please_ do hold your tongues!"

"We don't have tongues," Tank murmured. Lady shot him a withering look. This time Commander _did_ smile.

A buzzing that sounded to Ratchet more like a bumblebee than Bumblebee himself, made their eyes all turn skyward. Tiny landing lights blinked in a strange pattern. Two small wheels hung at the bottom of two small legs, with a larger covered wheel in the front under the nose of…

"What _is_ that?" Ratchet whispered to Pius, who shrugged unobtrusively enough that he wouldn't draw Lady's glare.

"That," Lady said quietly but with enough of an edge so as to make it clear she had indeed heard Ratchet, "is a Phantom Microlight aircraft."

They watched as the small single-propeller plane flew just above their heads.

"Nice shade of emerald green," Tank mused appreciatively as Chitchat circled and came in for a perfect three-point landing. The mechanical sounds coming from her as she transformed were markedly quieter than those of the rest.

"Fiberglass," Lady said by way of explanation. "Marvelously lightweight material they've got here on Earth."

"And yet you chose something as solid and heavy as my armor," Tank said as Chitchat's propeller moved to the top of her head, the shining auburn blades collapsing so that they resembled human hair.

Chitchat nodded enthusiastically, causing the blades to rattle against her fiberglass.

"I may be a lady," Lady stated as she moved to stand next to the considerably shorter emerald female Autobot, "but I'm as tough as any of you."

Chitchat nodded again, the props making the same sound only even noisier.

Commander and Tank exchanged a look that ended with Tank rolling his eyes. They didn't have to listen to her jabber, but _still_ she managed to make noise. Commander sighed.

Another engine was heard and the group turned to look behind Pius, who laughed as a small car with four large wheels containing large shiny metal spokes rolled into view. "Grandma," he said, "that's fantastic, what are you?"

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked, stopping in front of him.

"Because Aquos and Speed wouldn't be seen dead as whatever you are," Pius responded good-naturedly, causing her to laugh.

"Right you are, right you are. I will have you know I'm a vintage nineteen twenty-five Flint car," she replied, soft mechanical sounds emanating from her as she transformed. Like Chitchat, her Autobot form was half the height of the rest of them, but she seemed perfectly happy, silver fenders beaming in the floodlights surrounding the parking lot. "I'll have you know my top comes down as well!"

Commander and Tank burst into laughter before they could stop themselves, drawing a stern glare from their elder. They sputtered and coughed trying to cover it up.

"Honestly," Grandma said, flustered. "I mean, I'm a convertible. See, my canvas draws over my shoulders."

"Like a shawl," Ratchet interjected.

"A what?" Grandma blinked.

"A shawl. Sam's mom wore one once. He's a young human male who has befriended us. He said the shawl made her look like a…grandma," he finished.

"Well, then, I'll take that as a compliment."

"You wouldn't if you'd ever met Sam's mother," Ratchet said, shuddering. "We have concluded that parents are an extreme annoyance."

"All right, where are Aquos and Speed?" Commander said sternly.

"On their way," a voice said as a large red truck rolled to a stop. It looked very much like Lingo's except that it was bright red with white lettering outlined in sparkling gold.

"Brains?" Pius said, raising a metal eyebrow. "What is this?"

"Well, I particularly like the idea that this vehicle is designed for humans to help one another," he replied as he stopped in their midst. "I'm a paramedic truck, filled with all manner of medical instrumentation humans utilize to save each other's lives. It's a fascinating business, and some of the technology is rather impressive."

"Interesting choice," Lingo said. "We look like twins."

"Nonsense," Lady sniffed. "You're larger than he is."

"Ah, size doesn't matter," Brains said as he very quickly transformed and showed he was equal in height to Lingo.

Chitchat waved her arms. They turned to look at her and she put her hand on her hip and cocked her head. "I would say Chitchat disagrees with that broad statement," Lady interpreted, which led to Chitchat nodding vigorously and another roll of eyes from Tank and Commander in response to the rattling propellers.

There was a loud bang and a streak shot past them, kicking up dust and dead grass from the asphalt.

"What in the name of Primus was _that_?" Tank bellowed.

"I have a feeling that was Speed," Pius said, shaking his head.

A rumbling exhaust followed at a distance until another vehicle came into view and stopped next to Lingo and Brains. "That's funny," Ratchet said. "I would've thought you would have chosen a boat of some sort given what Pius told me of you."

Laughing, the new vehicle revved his engine twice before shutting it off. "I wanted to be a little more versatile than that," he replied. "I'm an Aton Impulse Viking amphibious Land Rover!" he finished proudly.

Pius took in the red-orange color and oversized balloon-like four wheels and nodded. "Good choice, Aquos. You can go by land or by sea."

"Exactly," Aquos replied. "Much more useful that way." They watched as he transformed, his head framed by two small headlights on both the left and right. Two tires were on the outside of his left leg, the other two on his right. "Also figured it wouldn't hurt to have some padding!" he chuckled, noting their gazes.

"I like it," Pius said. "Now, was that Speed who—?" He was cut off by the streak of black returning and spinning several three-sixties in front of them, throwing up a cloud of dust and dirt onto everyone.

"Speed, you stop that this instant!" Grandma said, shaking the dust from her canvas shawl.

"Sorry, Grandma," he replied as they all took in his new form.

"Wow," Lingo said. "Nice, what are you exactly?"

"A Bugatti Veyron Super Sport," Speed replied with more pride than they'd ever heard from him before. "It's the fastest land vehicle these humans have ever created and let me tell you, it _is_ fast!" His paint was sleek black and so smooth it resembled silk. An off-white stripe rimmed the entire bottom of the car all the way around.

At a supersonic rate he transformed, the horseshoe-shaped grill becoming the middle of his chest with an Autobot symbol. The thin rectangular headlights came together just under his neck. Speed grinned and winked at Chitchat, who shook her propellers in response and sidled up next to him, admiring his new body. Pius raised an eyebrow at Speed's choice and antics, but had to smile. There was no denying he looked as young as he was.

"That just leaves K-12," Commander said. "And he's late."

"On the contrary," a soft voice said from behind him. They all whirled around to find a two-wheeled vehicle that was so slick-looking it made Speed whistle in appreciation. "I have been here all the while."

"You seriously need to stop sneaking up on me," Commander said. "I have a flame-thrower now, you know."

Chuckling, K-12 moved forward to allow the others to see him. He was sepia colored with black leather and silver metal here and there, black grills and two black handles near his front. Small angled triangle headlights and a small curved plastic windshield completed the look.

"What are you?" Pius asked.

"I'm a BMW K 1200 touring motorcycle."

"K 1200?" Lingo repeated. "Ohhhh, that's gooooood, K-12."

"Nicely done," Pius smiled. "Motorcycle. Interesting vehicle."

"I'll bet it's fast," Speed said.

"Perhaps you will find out," K-12 replied.

"You're on!" Speed crowed, pointing a finger at the motorcycle who slowly and carefully transformed into an Autobot about the same height as Chitchat and Grandma. The entire front of the cycle became his head, with the saddlebags extending into legs alongside the seat that had split in half. The wheels adorned each upper arm and the result was a wiry but wise-looking Autobot.

"That accounts for all of us," Pius said. "Now I suggest we return to our Earth vehicle forms and allow Ratchet to lead us to Optimus."

"Good idea," Ratchet said. "And the sooner, the better. He's got some news you're not gonna wanna hear."

"You've mentioned nothing of this news previously," Pius said.

"That's because it's not my news to tell. Come, let's go."

Multiple mechanical sounds filled the air as each returned to their vehicle form. Jets, propellers, souped-up and regular engines revved up and the group departed, each happy with their new selves and wondering about the news Ratchet had mentioned.

Commander didn't like the idea the yellow Autobot had been keeping something from them. He and Pius exchanged glances that told him his revered leader was having the same thoughts. Uncertainty filled them and in the privacy of their own minds, each prayed the news wouldn't be as bad as their instincts feared.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Reunited**

When the last Autobot faded from sight, the lights over the entire vehicle lot went out, leaving only the bright full moon to see by. Cars, trucks, planes and watercraft sat silent and unmoving as a triangular black shape rolled forward from the shadows, exiting the lot and stopping right where Pius had just been.

The cockpit was a mere bump along the top. Three jagged edges completed the tail section of the sinister plane and its wings extended back beyond those. The nose of the craft came to a fine point its owner knew could do a great deal of damage if required.

When the last sounds of the Autobots' engines faded into the distance he smiled to himself, bringing his own on-board computer to life. A black screen flickered on. In white the words appeared that gave him a sense of satisfaction and the feeling that finally he had found his true self. "B-2 SPIRIT STEALTH BOMBER" it said. He chuckled. Known as "The Demon" to some of its pilots, it was the perfect thing for him.

With barely more than a stray thought, he began to change. Mechanized sounds echoed off the acres of metal behind him as he became a robot more massive than Pius, Ratchet, Commander or any of the others who'd just left. With his new size, strength and maneuverability the Autobots wouldn't stand a chance. Quickly and quietly Demon moved to follow them, content with the Earth vehicle choice he had made an hour earlier at Nellis Air Force Base. As a Stealth Bomber, he was certainly better than any of the junk the Autobots had had to choose from, and he knew it.

Ratchet landed them outside a massive warehouse that covered at least ten city blocks.

"What is this place?" Pius asked as each of them transformed into their robot forms.

"This is where the Autobots who come to this planet are processed, and it gives them a place to stay until they can make their way on their own. We put them through an orientation of sorts, making sure they are educated on the culture of humans and our edict that we will not harm humans. We are sworn to protect them."

"I believe we will all need this orientation," K-12 said from Pius's side as the leader nodded in agreement.

"Wait here," Ratchet said to Pius. "The rest of you come with me and we'll get you started."

Commander looked askance, not wanting to leave Pius's side. But he Prius simply nodded once and Commander knew his presence was neither required nor desired. He and Tank followed Ratchet and the rest fell in behind them. Lady stopped momentarily, placing her hand on Pius's arm.

"I'm ever so glad you've found him," she said quietly.

"So am I," Pius said, but couldn't bring himself to smile as she continued on to the warehouse. Left alone, he found himself with a feeling that was foreign. He could only describe it as trepidation.

For in spite of the fact that Optimus had always treated him as a brother from the first time he'd opened his eyes, Pius had always been very cognizant of the fact that Optimus had made him. From his very own design, even using one of his own eyes and part of his own processing unit to give Pius joined sight and thought. They had been mirror images of one another. He was born knowing everything Optimus knew. He was born owing his existence to the most peaceful and benevolent leader Cybertron had ever known.

But he had always remained subordinate. Optimus had tried to get him to rule by his side but Pius had always refused. That was, until the War. They'd had no choice but to divide their forces to fight the two largest factions of Decepticons on opposite sides of the planet. Optimus had taken his officers and a second group had sworn their devotion to Pius, putting him in command for the very first time in his life.

A command that had managed to see them all stuck beneath the surface of a dead planet for eons. A command that had seen the deaths of far too many. A command that had, ultimately, failed. Certainly they'd killed their share of Decepticons, but Cybertron was still dead. And not only that, it'd been thrown off-course. For all they knew, it would run into another space body and be blown to smithereens.

He looked up as a large door rolled upward. Illuminated from behind, the being that emerged could not be any other. He felt it in every circuit and that feeling shook him to his very core. Relief? Sadness. Joy? Hope. Love? Pain. So many emotions he had always buried so deeply now burst forth and left him unable to move or even speak.

A lamp from above brought his face into view and when Pius saw the eyes he knew he had come home. His father, truly, and his brother by name, stood before him.

"Brother to brother."

"Eye to eye," Pius said, his voice sounding strangely gruff to his own audio receptors.

"Mind to mind." Optimus raised his hand to cover the door over his chest and Pius mimicked the gesture.

"It's really you."

"I never thought to see you again."

"Nor I."

Optimus smiled. "Come," he said, holding a hand out toward Pius. "Let me show you something."

Pius nodded and willed his feet to move as he followed Optimus to the opposite end of the warehouse. Something very large was lying on the pavement covered by a solid brown plastic tarp. Frowning, Pius cocked his head as his brother reached out and pulled the sheet back.

"It can't be!" Pius gasped.

"It is," Optimus replied. "Megatron is dead."

"How?"

"There was a great battle here only two earth weeks ago. Megatron and his Decepticons nearly prevailed. The humans had disposed of his body into the Laurentian Abyss, but their scanners determined he'd gotten caught on the edge of it. With their permission we brought him up here to inspect further."

"The All Spark," Pius said, suddenly understanding. "He was after it. You found it!"

"We did indeed," Optimus nodded, replacing the canvas sheet over Megatron's face and fastening it down to metal spikes that had been pounded into the concrete beneath it. "It was beautiful, Pius, just as we imagined it would be. Only Bumblebee saw it in its original size, but nonetheless it was as powerful and magnificent as ever."

Just the tone of voice Optimus was using told Pius everything he needed to know. "Did Megatron get his hands on it?"

"Very nearly. But our greatest ally stopped him from stealing it. He is a human named Sam Witwicky. You will meet him tomorrow."

Pius nodded. "What happened?"

"To save my life, Sam thrust the All Spark into Megatron's chest. In colliding with his Spark it destroyed itself and him."

"That's how he died."

Optimus nodded. "And how we lost the All Spark." He reached into the compartment in his chest and pulled something out, opening his fingers slowly until Pius could see what it was.

"That's all that's left of it?"

The red and blue Autobot nodded sadly. "I'm glad you brought Brains. I'd like him to do an autopsy on Megatron tomorrow. Then we will return him to his watery grave."

"I'll see to it that he does. Are you looking for something in particular?"

"I'm not sure, really," Optimus said as he put the small piece of metal back into his compartment. "Something tells me we need to take a closer look at him, is all."

"So what do we do now? Without the All Spark, there is no hope for Cybertron."

"We have been welcomed to Earth," Optimus replied. "I have sent messages across the galaxies for Autobots who need homes to come here. We can live well among these humans, and we can help them in ways they never dreamed."

"I look forward to meeting the humans, then, Brother."

Optimus placed a hand on his shoulder. "Pius, I must be truthful with you: I never dared hope to see you alive again."

Pius placed his own hand on Optimus's shoulder. "Nor I you."

"This is a great day for the Autobots. The brothers are together again."

Pius nodded as they stared at one another. Their hands fell to their sides. Their chests opened. Small metal arms with spinning spheres hanging from them emerged from both of their compartments. The balls spun and spun until sparks began to fly. Then a jagged white bolt of electricity shot from one to the other and back again.

Both Autobots stood frozen as their neural processors digested everything the other had experienced since their last parting.

"I'm sorry about Jazz," Pius said at last.

"And I'm sorry about Nosey and Reporter," Optimus replied. "Would you care to see inside?" he asked, gesturing toward the warehouse.

"I don't think so," Pius replied. "Not just yet."

They stood there, tall floodlights casting shadows across their metal bodies. Mirror images of one another varying only in color, their eyes turned to the heavens. Both reveled in the feel of having their counterpart near after so many thousands of years. Filled with emotions they could barely process, neither wanted this moment to end. And so they just looked at the stars in this Milky Way galaxy, looked at the small but bright full moon and watched as a faraway comet made a quiet path across the sky.

The warehouse had been cleared of all the newcomers to Earth. Tank and Commander guarded the door at one end of the enormous structure while Speed and Aquos kept watch at the other. Lady and Chitchat were posted at the smaller rollup door near the center of the warehouse on its east side, leaving Ironhide and Ratchet guarding the door opposite facing west.

Megatron's body had been moved into the mostly empty interior. Pius, Optimus, Brains, Lingo and K-12 surrounded the head while Grandma pored over the one piece of the All Spark Optimus had managed to save. Bright overhead lights illuminated the scene as Brains leaned over the Decepticon's unseeing eyes and began his work.

"Pius!" Grandma exclaimed from a workbench thirty feet down from the autopsy scene.

Both Optimus and Pius moved quickly to her side. "What is it?" the former asked.

"The writings on the outside of this shard of the All Spark," she replied. "I've been looking at them because they seemed so familiar."

"Have you discovered something?" Pius asked.

"I think I have. You see this series of five equidistant lines running this way, and the four lines, space and four more lines intersecting it?"

"Yes," Optimus and Pius said in unison.

"I believe this to be the ancient language of Primacron."

"We just thought they were decoration," Optimus said. "You're saying the All Spark was covered with the language of the forefather of all Autobots?"

"I believe so. You see, when I was a youngster we were still taught the ancient ways when we were brought online. My creator found it of extreme importance to ensure we all had an understanding of and respect for the history of our kind."

"You can interpret this language?" Pius asked incredulously.

"Well, I'm not sure. My processors are awfully old, you know. And without the entirety of the All Spark, I can't know for sure whether there are more to these symbols and what shapes that may form. But this, these criss-crossed lines in this pattern? I'm absolutely certain it means 'cubes,' and I mean in the plural."

"Plural," Optimus said, thoughtfully tapping his chin. "But there is only one."

"Not according to this."

Pius and Optimus stared at her. "Grandma," Pius finally said, "what are you telling us? That this All Spark which was destroyed in Megatron was not the _only_ All Spark?"

"That's impossible," Optimus whispered.

"These two deeply indented circles at the base of the thinner intersecting lines would suggest there were _two_ cubes," she said excitedly. "And to be honest there may be more of these indentations but without seeing the complete All Spark I can't be sure." She stopped and looked directly at Pius. "There _could_ be even more."

"Optimus!" cried Brains. "Pius!"

They, along with Grandma, sped back to Megatron's body, where Lingo was holding two things, one in each hand. Brains was holding a third thing and they all knew immediately what the things were.

"Pieces of the All Spark," Optimus said in wonder, taking the one from Brains. Pius took one of the shards Lingo held, while Grandma took the other.

"I-I found these fragments in, ah, Megatron's chest," Brains explained. "I-I haven't seen evidence o-of any other pieces, but I'm, ah, going to continue to look."

"You've outdone yourself this time, Brains," Pius said, and Brains dipped his head in embarrassed pleasure. "K-12, do you know of the ancient language of Primacron?"

K-12 appeared surprised. He wasn't nearly as old as Grandma, but before the War he had been a scholar, forever seeking to learn and understand the ways of the ancient Autobots. A robot of peace and generosity, his pursuits had been cut short when the Decepticons had struck.

"I did begin the study of Primacronicus, yes, but I learned only the most basic of symbols."

"Then I want you with Grandma. Take these pieces to the workbench. She'll explain what she's found thus far. I want the two of you to do everything you can to decipher what's written on what little we have."

"It's too bad nobody speaks Primacronicus anymore, or I might be able to help," Lingo said forlornly.

"Wait a minute," Pius breathed, snapping his thumb and forefinger together. "Lingo, you don't know the language of Primacron but you _do_ know—"

"The language of _Primus_," Lingo finished for him. "Scholars have always held it was a direct derivation of Primacronicus." He looked to the distance where K-12 and Grandma had already begun looking at the newly found shards. "I'm on it, Primes."

The brothers chuckled. Lingo had taken to calling them 'Primes' as shorthand for their separate names, and it both amused and brought great pleasure to them every time he said it.

Brains had returned to his examination of Megatron's chest, but stopped and looked up at them. "I-I don't understand," he said after puzzling for a few minutes. "Do you think you're, ah, going to learn something from these fragments be-because of the etchings they, ah, have?"

"We may, at that," Optimus said as Brains returned to his work. "And if there _is_ another All Spark…"

Pius's eyes met his as he completed the thought. "Then Cybertron may yet be saved."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The All Spark**

It was nearing noon the next day. Brains had found six more pieces of All Spark, though two were mere slivers. None was larger than the original piece Optimus had preserved after Megatron's death. All the Primes' officers set to disassembling Megatron for disposal by the U.S. Army while the brothers, Lingo, Brains and Grandma continued to work on deciphering the All Spark language.

There was a high-pitched honking from outside and Optimus activated the east-side rollup door. It opened halfway, allowing a urobilin-yellow Chevrolet Camaro, with two black stripes the length of grille to tail lights, to enter. The driver and passenger doors opened as the warehouse door closed.

Two very tiny organic creatures exited the car and nearly as quickly it mechanized, the telltale sounds echoing in the vastness of the warehouse. Within seconds an Autobot the same size as most of his peers stood before them.

"This is Bumblebee," Optimus said by way of introduction. "He only recently regained the use of his vocal processors. They're not at full capacity yet."

"Really?" Pius asked, raising an eyebrow as he thought of Chitchat.

"As I live and breathe," Bumblebee whispered as he looked at the others. "Pius Prime? Brains? _Really_?" Brains spared him a grin and a glance as Lingo looked up from the workbench. "Lingo, man, I haven't seen you for _centuries_."

"You haven't seen _any_ of us for centuries," Lingo replied, completely absorbed in a tiny sliver of the All Spark.

"True," Bumblebee replied, nodding his head at Pius. "It's an honor. We never did meet before the War broke out."

"The honor is mine," Pius responded with a matching nod. "And who might these creatures be?" he continued, looking way down toward the floor where the beige-skinned things stood.

"This is my boy and his girl," Bumblebee replied.

"I am _so_ not your boy," the boy said, looking up at Bumblebee with disdain.

"But I _am_ your girl," the other one said, wrapping her arms around his neck and doing what to Pius looked like taking a bite out of his cheek.

"Oh, my," Pius breathed, wondering at the savagery.

"This is Pius Prime," Optimus said, looking at the boy and girl. "He is my brother,"

"You have a _brother_?" the boy asked in disbelief.

"I do indeed, Sam." Optimus turned to his near-twin. "Pius, this is our Sam Witwicky, the brave human who saved my life, to whom all Autobots owe so very much."

The human boy Sam, Pius noticed, seemed to change colors from beige to a near pink as he spoke. "Oh, it was no big deal," Sam said, waving his hand in dismissal.

"Over here are Brains, Lingo, K-12 and Grandma working with remnants of the All Spark." When Optimus said their names, each Autobot acknowledged with a small movement of head or hand but really paid little attention.

"The female is Sam's girlfriend, Mikaela Banes. She was instrumental in our success over the Decepticons."

"And don't listen to Sam," Mikaela said, reaching her hand toward Pius. "He acts like it was no big deal, but it was."

Pius reached down, allowing her to place her hand on what was a comparatively giant finger. "You are so small," he said as Sam, too, touched his finger. "And so fragile. How is it that you could defeat a Decepticon?"

Sam stood just that much straighter and raised his chin defiantly. "We humans are a lot tougher than we look," he replied.

"And with courage to match that of any Autobot," Optimus finished for him. "Now, Sam, I must ask you something about your great-great-grandfather's possessions. Do you still have them?"

"Yeah, sure I do, they're all in that bag in my room."

"There were papers amongst those artifacts. Papers with strange symbols on them that he drew after he was blinded."

"I was just looking at those a couple days ago," Mikaela interjected. "They seem to be a language of some sort, with some of the symbols showing repeating patterns."

Lingo turned to look at her, eyes wide. "You know languages."

"Well, no, not besides English. I just am good with patterns. You know, repetitions."

"_Lots_ of repetitions," Sam added, nodding vigorously. "Ooof!" he puffed as she backhanded his stomach.

"It would appear mating has finally occurred," Ironhide observed as he approached the group.

Optimus mimicked a human cough.

Sam turned as red as Optimus's paint job.

Mikaela rolled her eyes.

Pius was completely confused.

"Be that as it may," Optimus said, "if we could get our hands on those drawings, I think it would be of great benefit to our colleagues who are trying to decipher the ancient language of the All Spark."

"Ancient language?"

"Get in, I'll explain on the way," Optimus said as he transformed, downsizing to a semi cab. "Pius, I leave you in charge of this scene. Mikaela, Captain William Lennox will be arriving within the hour to begin removing Megatron's remains. Please remind him that all parts must be disposed of permanently and _not_ left intact in any way."

"Will do," Mikaela said. Sam turned and their lips touched, then the entire fronts of their bodies came together, arms wrapping around each other.

Pius watched, intrigued by the display and wondering what exactly it meant and was. Optimus sensed his brother's confusion and chuckled. "I will explain it to you, Pius, never fear."

"Good, because I have never seen the like," Pius replied as Sam and Mikaela finally parted. Sam got into the driver's seat of Optimus as the truck cab while Bumblebee brought his hand down, allowing Mikaela to step into it and sit cross-legged.

As they left the warehouse, Grandma turned to watch them go. "Strange beings, these humans," she observed.

K-12 nodded. "There is something almost mystical about them. They have no armor, and yet to have earned such allegiance from Optimus Prime shows a strength their appearance belies."

"I think I'm looking forward to learning more of humans," Pius said. "Now, keep on with your work. I'd like to have something new to tell Optimus upon his return."

* * *

Just over an hour later, Brains was the only one left at the workbench within the warehouse. Pius and the others had gone to help Mikaela and Bumblebee oversee the removal of Megatron's disassembled body. For his part, Brains had begun to believe there was something about the remnants of the Cube in their possession that was indeed meant to be understood…but not separately.

He had therefore started trying to fit the pieces together. Based on the engravings, he began positioning them this way and that to align the designs with one another. Unlike puzzle pieces, however, the handful he had were not exact matches. His mind worked and processed, moving them this way and that, before he finally decided one of the Energon cubes stacked against the wall would be of great use.

He went and picked one up, then using static electricity generated by his own hands, placed the various triangular and jagged pieces onto the cube where he thought they would have lain on the original All Spark. Quickly he would switch them around until at last on one side he was convinced three of the pieces were exactly where they should be.

The fourth, fifth and sixth piece seemed to fit on the bottom of his cube and the seventh appeared to belong to the side left of the first three. The final sliver held in his hand, he turned the Energon cube round and round before deciding it belonged on what he was calling the 'top' of the cube. As soon as he stuck it in place, the All Spark pieces began to glow.

Brains practically dropped the Energon cube, barely managing to get it to the workbench. He backed away as a cyan glow pulsed from the scarred metal remains. It was rhythmic and emanated from the engraved language. Lines, circles, symbols, each and every one of them emitted the strange light and he could feel a field forming around it.

Unsure as to what he should do next, he was relieved when Lingo entered the opposite end of the warehouse, and whistled to get his attention. Hurrying to his side, Lingo's eyes were glued to the pulsing glow. "What's going on?" he asked. "What's happened?"

"I don't know. I guess I must have the pieces in their right places."

"We have to tell Pius."

"Tell Pius what?" Commander's voice startled them as he approached with Tank by his side as always.

"Just look," Brains breathed, gesturing to the Energon cube with All Spark shards stuck to it.

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Tank asked.

"I-I can't be sure," Brains replied. "But, ah, in spite of it having been destroyed, I-I'd say the All Spark i-is very much alive."

"Do you think it's trying to tell us something?" Lingo asked.

"I-I don't know," Brains said, shaking his head as Tank and Commander moved in for a closer look. "I, ah…I just don't know."

The east side door began to open. Optimus, Pius, Sam, Mikaela and all the rest of the Primes' officers filed in. When Brains called them over to look at what was happening with the All Spark remnants, Sam pulled several yellowed papers from a backpack he was carrying.

"Look at this," he said excitedly, spreading the largest paper out next to the Energon cube. "Mikaela, look how these symbols match the ones on the shard Optimus kept that day."

She, Lingo and Brains looked at what Sam was pointing to.

"He's right," Lingo said. "Grandma, can you read this writing of Sam's?"

Moving forward, the small female Autobot stepped into place as Sam and Mikaela moved to the side. "Why, this is very basic indeed," she said. "You see, this symbol here, the horizontal straight line with branches reaching from the bottom of it, this means 'beneath.'"

"And the others," Optimus said, voice rising, "what of the others?"

"Well, the same horizontal line with the extending vertical and alternating horizontals, this symbol means 'giver of life.'"

"Go on," Pius urged.

"This symbol is badly drawn, but the curvatures at the bottom and coming from the top right mean it has to be the symbol for 'together.' And this one here, you see the long vertical line with the various horizontal lines and symbols branching left and right, this is an entire thought, or what you might call a sentence."

"Can you read it?" Lingo asked. "I only recognize the middle part. It says 'show the way.'"

"That's right, I'm impressed," Grandma replied. "It says 'The stars show the way to the second.'"

"The stars?" Tank repeated. "Space."

"The second," Pius and Optimus said in unison.

"Second what?" Commander asked, perplexed.

"Second All Spark," Optimus replied. "It has to mean there's another one."

"You're kidding," Sam breathed. "I thought you said it was the only one of its kind!"

Nobody answered. Because not one of them felt confident in the knowledge that mere weeks ago they had thought to be the only truth there was.

"Keep at it," Pius said. "I'm going to tell the others what we've found." He locked eyes with Optimus for a moment, feeling the hope in both of them grow exponentially. Then he moved outside to where Aquos, Speed, Chitchat, Lady, Bumblebee, Ironhide and Ratchet were catching up on old friendships and in some cases forging new ones.

* * *

He moved quickly and quietly. One of the best decisions he'd ever made was to become a Stealth Bomber, because it enhanced the radar scrambler he had in aircraft mode and also worked when he was in robot form.

Just behind a small garage, which sat silent and empty not forty feet from the edge of the pavement upon which sat the warehouse that had been a hub of activity since last night, he waited and listened. Tuning his auditory frequencies specifically to catch Pius's deep timbre as the sometime leader from Cybertron made his way toward a group of Autobots gathered nearby.

He fine-tuned the frequency until at last Pius's voice became as clear as though he'd been standing before the copper and gold robot.

"…have discovered writings on the remnants of the All Spark pulled from Megatron's body, which was destroyed along with the original All Spark."

Megatron's body. Megatron was dead! And the All Spark was…gone?

"When Brains brought the pieces together, placing them in what he believes to be their correct corresponding locations on an Energon cube, they began to glow. And Grandma believed some of the symbols were leading toward a second All Spark."

"_Surely not!"_ a clipped female voice said, sending a stab of pain through Demon's processor.

"And the human Sam Witwicky has retrieved papers with drawings made by his great-great-grandfather. Grandma is able to read the symbols. All signs point toward the fact that there is indeed a second All Spark."

Demon leaned back against the wall of the small garage. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Megatron was gone, meaning there was no leader for space-borne Decepticons. The All Spark was gone, which would certainly make his work harder now, but to learn of a second All Spark! If he could obtain that, and with Megatron out of the picture, surely he could rise to power at last. Not only would the Autobots bow before him, but if any Decepticons did remain, they'd have no choice but to swear their allegiance to him.

He, Demon, the one who had been left to die on Cybertron by the great Megatron, would now succeed where that bumbling idiot had failed. "Enjoy your freedom," Demon whispered, backing away from the warehouse and garage, "while it lasts, Pius Prime."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Return of Starscream**

Months had passed, and in spite of their nearly constant work to decipher the messages left by Captain Archibald Witwicky in the many drawings he'd left behind, and the pieces of All Spark they'd been able to recover and read, the Autobots were no closer to finding a second All Spark, if one truly did exist.

Frustrated, Commander had taken Tank, Aquos, Speed and Chitchat out into the world to learn about it. He wasn't a pessimist by nature, but he had to be realistic no matter how much the Primes wanted the existence of a second Cube. Though it had always been true that Pius was their leader, it was Commander who made the majority of the field decisions while Pius did most of the planning. As such, Commander had become the expert not just at leading his brothers and sisters through every danger zone they encountered, but at bringing all but two out alive.

It wasn't only in the thick of battle that he excelled. Commander's most remarkable asset was his ability to find solutions to problems that baffled even Brains and Pius. He could assess a situation and just when all hope seemed lost, come up with an idea very often referred to by Aquos and Speed as wire-crossed at best. Yet it always worked, and Pius had come to rely on him more and more while they'd been underground.

And quite honestly, Commander was having his doubts about Pius now. It seemed like being reunited with Optimus and then suddenly discovering a second All Spark could exist had become an obsession with him.

At the very base of who he was, Commander completely understood and sympathized with both Pius and Optimus, whose goal had always been to bring Cybertron back to its former peaceful glory. But as he streaked through the sky, enjoying his new Raptor body by performing rollovers and hitting speeds he knew would break every bone in a human's body, he realized he was beginning to doubt that they were _meant_ to restore Cybertron. It was dead, and after so many years under siege by the Decepticons, maybe it was meant to stay that way.

This Earth seemed like a pretty decent place, after all. They could blend in, they could help these homo sapiens out with their technology and millennia of knowledge. Earth was so different from Cybertron with its oxygen, its greens and blues and the multitude of colors he'd never seen stem from _anything_.

The skies were wide open, and the sights to see as he flew past monuments such as Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon, the Golden Gate bridge, the White House and the Statue of Liberty…never before had he encountered such monumental feats of engineering. Whether by Nature or by the hand of Man, this was a planet he could get used to living on.

And with that thought firmly in mind as he returned to Bee Canyon just north of Mission Viejo in Southern California, he knew it was time to really think about the future of those he'd brought through battle after battle. Aquos and Tank would be in Mission Viejo now, people-watching. Chitchat had decided to take Speed and check out the Pacific coastline. It was time to bring them together. Time for them to understand what he was thinking and for him to discover the same of them.

Frustrated by the sheer number of Autobots that had come to join the Primes on Earth, Demon had been finding it impossible to carry out his plans anywhere on the surface of this small and overcrowded planet. He'd been gathering the necessary equipment to manufacture his own robot army, something he knew he'd need even if he did come upon the second All Spark.

He'd let the Primes lead him to that. Why do the work if they could do it for him?

And so he'd turned his eyes to the heavens and in the lifeless rock the humans called the Moon, discovered he had all the room and privacy he needed to amass an army that could defeat the Autobots, the humans and anyone else who dared stand in his way.

It was thus that he had ferried every scrap of equipment there himself, making no less than three hundred trips back and forth over the past three weeks. Exhausted but driven, he toiled hour after hour putting the machinery and computers together, programming them, designing his robots and coming up with what he would call them: Moonbots.

At last he had everything up and running. He would start the process and allow his small factory to begin with the microprocessors and internal mechanisms that would form their central nervous system. But that wasn't the half of it.

The true genius of these drones was in the fuzzy logic program he'd developed over years of hiding out on Cybertron while he slowly repaired his broken body whenever he could scrounge up parts to do it with. He had filled it with every known Autobot fighting tactic the Decepticons knew of, and furthered that knowledge by attributing specific fighting techniques to specific Autobots.

The Decepticons knew so much more about the Autobots than they'd ever let on. And in addition to that in-depth knowledge, these new drones would also learn. They'd think faster than either Autobot _or_ Decepticon. In less than a microsecond they'd have analyzed their opponents' movements and work together as a single mind to defeat them.

It was sheer brilliance, something Megatron had never admired about the Decepticon soldier he'd left behind. All he had to do now was install the program in the main computer and let it imprint on each bot's central processor. He would make several trips back to Earth for more material to comprise their outer shells. The final ingredient was a piece of the All Spark.

Damn those Primes, they guarded those shards around the clock. But with his stealth technology, Demon knew he could sneak into that warehouse and get what he needed. And if he had to take an Autobot or two out in the process, well, it was better they started realizing they weren't in control of everything.

Demon was rather pleased with himself as he left the Moon, streaming through the vacuum of space in Stealth Bomber form. That was the one thing no Autobot or Decepticon had ever had because they'd never invented it. He had the sudden thought he might miss these humans and some of the technology they'd invented. But the thought was quickly gone. Regardless of the fact they'd come up with something as wonderfully destructive as nuclear weapons, they were still inferior, meddlesome and not worth the trouble of keeping alive.

He was coming back.

First, he would avenge Megatron's death. Or at least, that's the excuse he'd give for laying waste to the Autobots. Then he would get rid of every last human on that puny planet. After that, he'd return to The Fallen and report success. Then The Fallen would die. It was such a simple plan. And Starscream knew it was his destiny.

None of them had ever known there'd been two All Sparks. Not even Optimus Prime knew, according to The Fallen. But the leader of the Decepticons had revealed this to Starscream when he had reported Megatron's demise. And he'd told him exactly where to find it.

Something glinted from the light of the star the humans called their Sun. He skirted the rings of Saturn and slowed considerably, watching as a strange triangular object flew from the Moon toward Earth. He watched it enter the atmosphere of the planet and wondered who it was and what they'd been doing on the Moon.

Total dominance of the universe could wait a few more hours, he decided, diverting from his original course. Circling the dead rock, it was when he reached the crater Copernicus that he saw something he knew was out-of-place. Flying in lower, he landed on the edge of the crater and looked down upon what seemed to be a small factory.

He jetted closer, hovering just above the dusty, rocky surface as he circled the structure. It was rather crude, to be sure, but he knew within seconds it had been made by the hand of a Decepticon. Surely Scorponok had not survived! It couldn't be! There had been no Decepticons left but Starscream himself when he had left the planet to seek The Fallen.

And yet as he made his way to the center of the factory and watched the machines doing their mindless, repetitive work, the appearance of the Decepticon symbol made it clear it _had_ to be that Scorponok had survived. Survived and made it to this location to build…an army.

Starscream wondered how the fool intended to make these robots he was creating live. Scorponok couldn't possibly know of the second All Spark, and yet he had built his factory on the very rock…and within the very crater…where it was hidden.

Anger pulsed through his circuitry. Did that mean his former ally had already obtained the Cube? Could it be? Starscream moved through the assembly room and into a room filled with computer banks, servers and other technology that he could tell had been significantly altered from what the humans had originally created it for.

He exited through a door at the far end of the mile-long building and checked the coordinates. This was the correct location. Dropping to his knees, he smoothed a few inches of dust away from the spot, then rose and backed away. His first missile fired from his left shoulder. Chunks of rock blew away. Good, he'd made some headway.

A second missile fired from his right shoulder. More rock flew in every direction. Dust hung in the low gravity, obscuring the hole he was creating. But it didn't matter. He knew his next missile would be on-target, as would the one after that and that one after that.

Within half an hour he'd have the second All Spark. Then he'd find Scorponok and relieve him of his life.

Demon stopped short, nearly dropping the load of metal and fiberglass he was carrying on his back. In full robot mode he'd flown from the surface of the Earth with his burden. But as he neared the Moon he knew something wasn't right. Moon dust hung low in the crater he'd chosen for his factory and there were lights burning inside the long building that he knew he hadn't left on.

Coming in low and silent, he left the Moonbot body material at the edge of the crater and cautiously made his way down the side. Stealing up to the main door, he cracked it open and his red eyes glowed as he took in a large, black robot standing at the edge of the assembler with his back to the door.

Who was this intruder? There had been no mention of any other Decepticons by the Autobots, but he knew from the way this one held itself that it wasn't an Autobot. That's when the stranger moved a step to his right and Demon gasped in disbelief. The stranger whirled on him, hiding the small object Demon had only briefly glimpsed.

"Who are you?" Demon hissed, entering and slamming the door behind him.

"You're not Scorponok."

"Hardly. Is that useless slug still alive?"

"Who are _you_?"

"Since you have invaded _my_ factory, I'll thank you to answer _me_ first."

"Yours? Crude, but well thought out."

Demon stayed silent, warily eyeing the machine guns that made up this Decepticon's weaponry, and the eight empty missile launchers.

"I'm Starscream. And now you will return the gesture."

"Starscream. You were with Megatron!"

"No longer. Megatron's dead."

"I know. I've seen his body. They destroyed it. Incinerated every inch of him."

"Bastards."

Demon raised an eyebrow.

"I won't ask you again. Who are you?" Starscream said slowly.

"Demon. And these are _my_ Moonbots."

"Demon. We left you for dead."

"You obviously made an error."

Shrugging, Starscream laughed quietly. "It doesn't really matter and neither do your…what did you call them? _Moon_bots? Neither do they. At least," he said, turning and picking up something from the workbench, then turning back and holding it out for Demon to see, "not without this."

"_You_ have the second All Spark? It _exists_?" Demon cried, rushing forward.

"Uh-uh-uh," Starscream ground out, raising the small cube high into the air. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Give it to me."

Starscream narrowed his eyes and stared thoughtfully at the sleek black Decepticon before him. Within seconds he realized what this was all about. "You meant to take the Autobots and humans on yourself," he said, jabbing his finger at Demon's chest. "You meant to take the planet and have all the power for your_self_!"

"And why not? I thought I was the only Decepticon left!"

"Well, you're not. And I have orders from The Fallen to kill everything and everyone on this planet, and return this second All Spark to The Fallen when I am through."

Demon laughed out loud. "You have no intention of taking that back to The Fallen."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because _I_ wouldn't. And you and I are far too much alike."

Starscream leveled his arm at Demon's head. "Then one of us has to be eliminated."

Demon raised his left and right arms, revealing two ASM-135 missiles. He aimed one at Starscream's head and the other at his torso. "Yes, _one_ of us does."

Minutes passed as the two stared intently at one another. Finally it was Starscream who spoke. "Perhaps I was too hasty," he said, dropping his arms to his sides. "Allies?"

Demon narrowed his eyes. "Hand me the All Spark."

"Over my dead body."

"If you insist." Demon fired a missile. Starscream dove out of the way, the All Spark flying from his hand as he hit the floor. Demon went after it but was knocked away as Starscream grabbed the All Spark before it hit the floor and rolled to his feet, firing his machine guns. Round after round pelted Demon's body. He felt and heard the pop as one of his fluid lines was hit and began to leak.

He struggled to his feet and hunched forward to protect his Spark. Bullets continued to hit his back as he tried to power up his missile launcher. It wouldn't work no matter how many times he rerouted the firing mechanism. When Starscream fired at him again, he dove to the floor to avoid it as error messages from his weapons array streamed into his central processor. He scrambled to his feet, threw the door open and took off. With this much fuel leaking and an inability to defend himself, he didn't have much time and he knew it. He heard Starscream emerge from the factory and yell something at him, but he left the Moon's surface as fast as he could.

When he finally slowed enough to turn around and survey the scene, he saw Starscream disappear back into the factory. Well at least he wasn't following him. No doubt he was going to return to making Demon's Moonbots, and then use the second All Spark to bring them to life.

For one panic-stricken moment, Demon didn't know what to do. With Starscream in possession of his robots and the All Spark, there was no way of defeating him. At least not on his own. Yet there were no other allies anywhere near. None but…

He suddenly realized there _was_ an option open to him. In the same moment he told himself there was no way he'd do it, he also understood that he had no choice. If he wanted to save himself, if he wanted to get rid of Starscream so _he_ could take over as he'd planned, he'd have to do the one thing that to a Decepticon was more despicable than any other.

He only hoped Optimus and Pius Prime wouldn't turn him away.

Starscream didn't much care about Demon. The fool was injured and even if he made it back to Earth, he wouldn't be helped by anyone there. Decepticons were persona non grata on that planet after what they had done trying to get their hands on the All Spark.

_One_ of the All Sparks, he corrected himself. Here in his hands was the second. And with the Moonbots halfway finished it would be no time at all before Starscream would make a reappearance down there anyway. A Decepticon army the likes of which hadn't been seen in millennia, each robot given life with a true All Spark, would ensure victory. Not only over Optimus Prime and the Autobots, but over every living creature on the planet.

As he watched the mechanized arms build Moonbots, he could almost _taste_ victory.

He hit the ground so hard he was sure he'd felt it shake beneath him. Coolant and energy seeped from several severed and cracked hoses. The glow from his red eyes faded to half-strength as the last rays of the sun exploded in a final orange, yellow and pink hurrah on the horizon.

At the base of the foothills, he wasn't far from the warehouse where the Primes were. As he fought a losing battle to keep his circuits online, he managed to activate his distress signal. Using every last ounce of strength he had, he rolled from his back to his side, face smashing into the scattered small rocks and dust beneath him. His right hand moved and slowly he spelled out the first five letters of the one thing he knew might make the Autobots think twice before ensuring his death was permanent.

Then his autonomic nervous system shorted as the four F-118-GE-100 turbofan engines that made up his chest overheated. Milliseconds later, Demon the Decepticon was gone.

The first thing to show signs of life are the eyes. That held true for all Cybertronic life forms, and Demon was no exception. They flickered with a hiss and pop, then came to their full red glow, internal mechanisms behind them opening and closing like camera shutters.

He realized he wasn't dead. Well, that was a good start, he reasoned. Then he realized he wasn't alone. The third thing he became aware of was that he couldn't move any part of his body. Not even a finger. So he shifted his eyes right and left, but the only thing he saw was a laser cannon pointed directly at his head.

"I see you found me."

Optimus Prime and Pius Prime leaned over him simultaneously. It was the former who responded. "Indeed we did, and had it not been for the message you partially scrawled into the sand, we would have left you there."

"What did you mean, making your dying message be 'All Spark'?" Pius questioned as Optimus retreated. "Explain who you are and what's going on."

"My name is Demon," he replied, looking steadily into the Autobot's eyes. Every fiber of his being wanted to leap from the semi-upright table he was lashed to and rip the Prime to shreds. But under the circumstances, all he could do was think about it.

"I know that name," Bumblebee said, hoisting Sam and Mikaela in his hand so they could better see their fallen foe. "You were part of the detachment Megatron left on Cybertron."

"I was wounded and left for dead."

"How is it you have made your way here to Earth?" Optimus asked, stepping into his line of sight again.

"I followed Pius and his officers when they left the surface."

"You _what_?" Commander spat, leaning over him menacingly. "How could you possibly have done that without us knowing you were there?"

"He possesses a stealth shield," Optimus explained, holding a hand in the air to calm Pius's second-in-command. "Demon was outfitted with the technology by Megatron himself as part of an experiment. If I'm not mistaken," he continued, looking directly into the red eyes, "you were the only Decepticon who survived those experiments."

"I'm impressed by how much you know," Demon said, and truly he was. He'd no idea any of the Autobots had known of Megatron's various side projects. "It was my ability to cloak myself from your scanners that enabled me to follow as Pius found the beacon." He looked askance at the second Prime. "As you learned of Earth and the fact that your brother still lived."

Pius's eyes connected briefly with those of Optimus before he looked back at Demon. "You followed us all these thousands of years on our journey from Cybertron to Earth. And then what? What was it that caused your injuries?"

The Decepticon looked from one to another of the three Autobots he could see. If The Fallen ever found out that he'd done what he was about to do, it would be the end of him. But right now Demon had an even bigger problem. Soon, they _all_ would have.

"Starscream," he finally replied.

"What?" Optimus asked incredulously.

"That can't be, he hasn't been heard from since the battle!" Ironhide said.

"He went to seek The Fallen and was returning to Earth when he found me on the Moon," Demon said. He went on to explain to all present what he'd been doing with his Moonbots, and why, and that Starscream had discovered the second All Spark right there in the crater where Demon had built his laboratory and factory.

"So now Starscream's going to use what you began, and the All Spark, to wipe us out," Commander said, glaring at Demon. "Great. Thanks a lot."

"I was not to know other Decepticons had survived!"

"No, you weren't," Pius said. "You were convinced you were the only one left and therefore had the right to use your Moonbots and the second All Spark to destroy us and the humans of this planet."

"What a shit," Mikaela spat from her spot on Bumblebee's hand.

Sam nodded and looked carefully at the Autobots surrounding the Decepticon. "Like Bumblebee's said many times, you are the most compassionate of all Autobots," he finally said to Optimus. "After all, you saved a Decepticon's life. But given that the only reason he's here is that _another_ Decepticon almost killed _him_, I don't know if we can trust him."

"The boy is right," Ironhide said.

"I'll second that," Commander nodded.

Optimus held up his hand again. "Right now we have made it impossible for you to move, Demon. That is for our protection. You must tell us everything you know so that we may decide what to do about Starscream and your Moonbots."

"And then?" Demon asked, not entirely sure this whole alliance thing was such a good idea after all.

"There may not be a then," Commander menaced. "If you could have, you would have destroyed us. Why should we trust you now?"

Demon shrugged, at least mentally. "Because," he said as honestly as he knew how, "right now I'm at your mercy. I have no reason to lie."

"We'll see about that," Pius said. "Commander, Tank, you go with those Optimus designates to the Moon for reconnaissance."

"Yes, sir," Tank and Commander replied in unison.

"If Starscream and the factory are indeed there as Demon indicates," Optimus warned them, "do not strike. Ratchet, Ironhide, you're with Commander and Tank. You are observing _only_."

"Understood," Ratchet said. "Come, everyone."

As the four left, Optimus and Pius looked back to Demon, whose eyes had grown dimmer.

"Rest now," Brains said as he changed the liquid Energon IV he'd had flowing into Demon's body. "I-It'll be a while before you, ah, gain your strength back."

As Demon felt himself fade, he whispered, "Thank you."

"What?" Brains asked in disbelief.

"Thank you for saving…my life," he finished as his eyes went dark.

"I'll be damned," Sam said as Bumblebee lowered him and Mikaela to the floor. "I never thought I'd hear those words from a Decepticon."

"Nor did I, Sam," Optimus said quietly, staring at Demon's sleeping form. "Nor did I."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Battle**

Ratchet held a hand up and his four companions slowed. "There are definitely signs of life in there," he said, nodding toward the factory. Lights burned and a strange glow emanated from the end furthest from their position.

"Someone's in there for sure, but how do we know it's Starscream like Demon says?" Tank asked.

"We don't," Commander said. "I'm going in for a closer look."

"You can't," Ironhide protested. "If it _is_ Starscream, and he's got an army of bots _and_ another All Spark, you'll be dead."

"That's what I do," Commander said evenly. "It's my job to be first on-scene and assess the situation."

"Where do you want me?" Tank asked, as though this were the most natural thing in the world.

"On my flank, Brother, like always."

Ratchet and Ironhide exchanged looks. "Well," Ratchet said, "since you've decided you're in charge, where do you want us?"

"Airborne, equidistant from our entry point here at the closest door to us," Commander replied. "And I want you fully armed and ready to act. If it looks too dicey, get back to the Primes and warn them."

"I don't run from a fight," Ratchet said.

Commander placed a hand on his shoulder. "You wouldn't be with Optimus Prime if you did."

Ratchet almost felt like smiling as he nodded. This was an Autobot he wouldn't mind taking orders from any day. "All right, let's get going. Once you confirm it's Starscream, we're heading back to Earth on the double."

"You got it," Commander confirmed. He gestured to Tank and the two of them drifted into the light gravity of the lunar atmosphere, touching down silently with negligible puffs of moon dust rising around their massive feet.

Tank looked to Commander, who motioned for him to get the door unlocked. The shamrock green Autobot moved quickly, assessing the type of panel Demon had used and trying multiple combinations of the familiar Decepticon symbols until at last they heard a click.

They both waited, Commander looking up and to the left, then to the right, to assure himself both Ironhide and Ratchet were in place. When he was confident the factory's occupant hadn't heard the door unlock, he nodded to Tank to open it.

Something sailed through the door and had knocked Commander to the ground. It was an off-white robot that was roughly the same height as the Autobot second-in-command, but markedly thinner. The two robots bounced off the surface once, twice, then landed against the edge of the crater with a violent crunch.

"Commander!" Tank cried, but was surprised by another off-white robot tackling him to the ground.

Ironhide and Ratchet swooped in with guns and lasers blazing. They managed to disable the bot holding Commander down, but Tank cried out as the one he was fighting wrenched himself around and fired directly into his shoulder.

"Tank!" Commander cried as he, Ironhide and Ratchet ran to his side. They physically pulled the bot from Tank and Ratchet blew his head clean off.

"They know we're here!" Ironhide shouted. "We have to go _now_!"

"Can you fly?" Commander asked as Ironhide tried to refasten Tank's arm to his shoulder so it wasn't just dangling by a thin rubber hose.

"Have to," Tank ground out.

A voice from behind them made the Autobots freeze mid-movement. "Well, well, well, who do we have here?"

Tank looked directly at Commander, who shook his head ever-so-slightly. Then his eyes glowed a brighter blue, for he knew Tank was going to do it anyway. "Go!" Tank cried, whirling and charging into Starscream's torso. The two fell back into the factory.

"Tank, _no_!" Commander roared, but Ratchet and Ironhide were on either side of him pulling him with them as they took off.

"We have to go!" Ratchet yelled. "Now!"

"I can't leave him!"

"You must," Ironhide said. "He did that to save you."

"Warn the Primes about the Moonbots!" Commander yelled, wrenching himself from their grasp. The last words they heard as he disappeared through the door were, "Do _not_ let Starscream win."

Ironhide looked at Ratchet and the two nodded once. "It has been an honor," Ironhide said as the door slammed shut behind Commander.

"I second that," Ratchet added, knowing Commander wasn't yet too far away to hear. He hesitated for only a second before he and Ironhide took off for Earth.

Commander could hear Starscream and Tank scuffling. There was laser fire and then there was silence. He could hardly bear to think of what he'd find when he crossed the threshold, but before he could stop himself, that's what he did.

He skidded to a halt just inside the door, eyes widening in disbelief.

* * *

Sam alerted Captain Lennox about Starscream and the Moonbots. Within thirty minutes the entire complement of the State of California's Army, Navy and Air Force were put on high alert, with Washington, D.C. taking charge of the rest of the nation's forces.

Bumblebee transformed into his Camaro alter ego. Sam and Mikaela jumped in and high-tailed it away from the warehouse to join the Army's forces. Pius and Optimus quickly put a plan of attack together that would see Speed, Aquos, Ratchet, Ironhide and the two of them head to the Moon to destroy Starscream, the factory and the Moonbots. And, Pius prayed, to rescue Tank and Commander.

K-12, Grandma, Chitchat, Lady, Lingo and Brains would remain on Earth. Lingo was to monitor all transmissions from inside the warehouse while Brains, Grandma, K-12 and Lady met up with Bumblebee and Captain Lennox's troops. Chitchat would remain with Lingo. Because she still couldn't speak, she couldn't be given a job that required communication…but she could sure help listen to it.

Plan firmly in place, the Primes took off with their group, hoping they weren't too late. From the door of the warehouse, Chitchat watched them go, hoping it wouldn't be the last time she ever saw Speed…or any of them…alive.

* * *

Speed and Aquos flanked Pius, while Ironhide and Ratchet took up position with Optimus. There was no sound from inside the factory, although the lights were still blazing as Ratchet and Ironhide remembered. They pointed to the door Tank and Starscream had tumbled through and Optimus indicated they would take that entrance while Pius and his team would go to the other end, where the strange glow was still visible.

There was nothing inside the door. There were no Moonbots, no Autobots, and no signs of Starscream. Ratchet and Ironhide shook their heads at Optimus's questioning look. Weapons loaded and ready, they moved into the mile-long facility, all sensors on high alert.

Pius, Aquos and Speed reached the far end of the building and softly landed just outside the door. Aquos moved to one side, Speed to the other. Pius worked the Decepticon-coded lock and heard the door click. Looking to Speed first, he waited for his ready nod before looking at Aquos and receiving the same. Slowly he opened the door.

What emerged from within wasn't exactly what any of them were expecting. A long black laser rifle poked through the entryway, hitting Pius's nose and pushing him backwards several feet before its owner emerged.

"Commander?" Speed squeaked.

"Speed!" Commander said, equally surprised. "Aquos?" He searched behind them. "Pius, where's Starscream?"

"He's not in there with you? Where's Tank?"

"Tank knocked Starscream out. We got our hands on the All Spark and I used it to restore Tank's arm; one of the Moonbots had nearly severed it. By the time I finished I heard your footsteps and thought you were Starscream returning."

"You have the second All Spark?"

Tank appeared behind Commander holding the worn-looking silver, gold and copper-colored cube etched with markings they now knew were the ancient language of their forefathers. Less than half a meter on each of its six sides, Pius thought it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen as Tank handed it gently to him.

"And to think," Optimus said quietly as he, Ratchet and Ironhide approached them from behind Tank and Commander, "that was once a giant monolith on our home world."

They gathered into a close circle, staring at the object they had sought for so many thousands of years it seemed sheer impossibility that they finally had it.

"It will be again," Pius said. "On my life I swear to you it will."

* * *

"Then _I_ swear to you it _won't_!" a sinister voice hissed from behind him.

The Autobots whirled to face their Decepticon foe but Commander had already moved, throwing Pius out of the way as Optimus rocketed forward. Everyone but Pius fired as the copper and gold Autobot bounced several times until the edge of the crater stopped him and he was able to right himself.

But it was too late for Optimus and Commander, and Starscream wasn't alone. The laser fire and resulting smoke were so dense, Pius couldn't tell exactly who was where until the Moonbots started launching into the air. He fired and hit Moonbot after Moonbot as he rose into the air followed by Aquos, Ratchet and Speed. Ironhide, Optimus and Commander were nowhere to be seen as Starscream followed the bots into space.

"I'll be back for the All Spark," Starscream roared as the Autobots kept firing and he kept dodging them. "After Earth has been destroyed!"

"Where is Optimus?" Pius asked, jetting back down to the lunar surface as the smoke began to clear.

Aquos shook his head as he, Ratchet and Speed landed next to them.

"Commander," Pius whispered, kneeling between the bodies of his brother and his most trusted ally. "No."

"Pius." The clone of Optimus Prime looked up to find Tank and Ironhide standing over him. In his hands, Tank held the All Spark. He knelt next to his leader, raising the Cube before them. "Commander used this to heal me, to restore my arm." Pius nodded slowly as he stared sadly at the lifeless bodies. "Pius, you can use it to restore _their_ lives."

"I thought only direct creations of Primus and those cloned from them could use the All Spark to create life or restore it," Ironhide said uncertainly. "Pius Prime could use it, of course, as long as the bodies are not too damaged. But how did Commander do so on Tank's arm?"

Tank looked up at the black and gray Autobot with three-pronged feet. He then looked at Pius. "Yes, how did he do what he did?"

Pius laid a hand on Commander's chest. "The Spark that is within him, that gave him life, came from me."

"What?" Aquos said. "When did _that_ happen?"

"During the underground raid that cut off our only escape route, the Decepticons killed more than Nosey and Flash. They killed Commander as well."

"You can't be serious!"

"I am very serious, Speed," Pius replied. "Both Nosey and Flash were in far too many pieces for me to be able to do anything. But Commander was hit directly in the chest. His Spark was extinguished."

"I knew you two were trapped in the tunnel for weeks, but you never told us anything else about it," Tank breathed. "Does Commander know?"

"No, I never told him. Once I determined we couldn't get out of there in time to seek help, I gave him the only thing I had."

"Half of your Spark," Tank said as Pius nodded. "The same way Optimus Prime created you."

"Exactly."

"Can you use the All Spark to bring him back?" Tank asked, looking down at Commander's body.

"I will try," Pius said. "But you must hurry to Earth." He looked up at the Autobots standing and kneeling around him. "You must ensure Starscream and the Moonbots do _not_ succeed, no matter what happens here."

"Optimus would want it that way," Ratchet said. "And so would Commander."

Tank hesitated as the others moved away to prepare for blastoff. Pius rose to his feet. "I know you don't want to leave him," he said quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "You two have been inseparable since that cave-in."

"And I had no idea he'd died," Tank replied.

"Neither did he, and let's keep it that way," Pius said, placing a hand on Tank's shoulder. "I'll bring him back to us, and Optimus as well. If it takes every ounce of energy I have left, Tank, I will."

"I know you will," Tank said, cocking his head to the side. "After all, you're Pius Prime."

Pius watched them all take off and turned to look back at Commander and Optimus. "You're damn right I am," he whispered fiercely, cradling the All Spark in his large hands. "And these are the most important lives I could ever save."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Autobots Down**

The sand moved as Starscream and forty-eight Moonbots landed in the deserts of Qatar. The small Arab country in the Middle East had been the scene of modern humans' introduction to the destructive Decepticons only a few months before.

Now as Starscream surveyed the barren landscape, his eyes rested on one small bump of sand that appeared different from any of the others around them. "Arise!" he called out. "I summon you, Decepticon, to the surface!"

The sand moved again and in the blink of an eye a giant metal scorpion was standing atop the sand where the bump had once been. Starscream laughed as the being transformed into a drab gold and silver robot. "I knew you had not perished, Scorponok!"

His response was to fire six missiles directly at Starscream, who launched himself into the air to avoid them. "And I knew you could not be trusted," he finished, leveling his weapon at the beast, who had transformed back into his scorpion shape. Starscream fired as Scorponok burrowed beneath the sand again.

"Moonbots! Seek and destroy Scorponok!"

Starscream was going to eliminate the Decepticons. First Scorponok, and then he'd get around to Demon. He would be the last surviving Decepticon and then the battle would truly begin. He took aim where the sand moved and fired. The scorpion moved no more.

* * *

They were as ready as they'd ever be.

Pius's crew was hell-bent on getting revenge. Optimus's were equally furious. After listening to Tank, Ratchet and Ironhide's tale, they all hoped to hell Pius would be successful. But whether he was or not, Starscream and his Moonbots had to be destroyed, or all human life would simply be gone in a matter of months.

Tank and Ratchet took charge and came up with a good plan of attack should Starscream and the Moonbots attack their warehouse location. Lingo and Chitchat kept in contact with the various armed forces already involved while Speed and Aquos patrolled outside the warehouse. Brains, Bumblebee, Grandma, K-12, Lady, Sam and Mikaela had made it safely to the Presidio of Monterey on the Pacific Coast. They were working with the army to liaise with foreign military entities and their respective governments when Ratchet called them back to Bee Canyon.

They knew Starscream would soon arrive. It was Lingo who posed the question they'd all been avoiding as the warehouse's occupants grew more jittery with every passing moment. "What about Demon?"

Everyone turned to look at the sleeping Decepticon, still with motor functions disabled and strapped to the long table that was at a thirty-degree angle to the floor. Aquos and Speed came to stand on either side of him.

"He wants to kill Starscream as much as we do," Speed said. "You could hear it in his voice."

"Yes, but don't forget he wanted to kill _us_, too, and likely would have if Starscream hadn't foiled his plans," Tank reminded him.

"We have restored him using a shard of the original All Spark," Ironhide said, "at Optimus's command. I don't think he would want us to now take what we have freely given."

Ratchet shook his head. "We only did that to find out what he knew about the All Spark. If he hadn't etched it into the dirt we would've let him lay rusting. He did it on purpose."

"But he genuinely knew something about the All Spark." Aquos frowned as he spoke. "And activated his distress signal. He _knew_ we'd find him."

"Precisely my point," Ratchet nodded. "What if he's in this with Starscream and pretending to have been attacked is just a ploy to get us to trust a Decepticon? This would allow them to attack us from the inside _and_ outside."

"All your points are valid," Tank said, looking at each of them in turn. "But until our colleagues return from the Presidio we are severely undermanned and without our leadership."

"What are you saying, then?" Ratchet asked. "You want us to release him?"

"I suggest we restore his motor functions to him but leave him sleeping. Should the need arise, he can be awakened and fully functional," Tank said evenly.

Ratchet and Ironhide's eyes met. Ironhide nodded slowly and Ratchet turned to look at the others. "Well?"

"I think that's the safest bet. If Demon _is_ telling us the truth, he'd be a good ally. He's got to know more about Starscream's fighting tactics than we do," Aquos said.

"And he created the Moonbots," Speed said. "If anyone knows how to defeat them, it's Demon."

Tank nodded. "Ratchet?"

"All right, we'll play it your way, but _no_ releasing him unless it becomes abso_lute_ly necessary."

"Agreed," Tank said. "Ironhide, go ahead."

It took only a few minutes for Ironhide to reactivate Demon's motor functions, but the Decepticon slept on.

"All right, Speed and Aquos, you're on the north end. Lingo, you take the south perimeter."

"Ratchet and I can take the east," Ironhide offered.

Tank nodded. "Chitchat, you're with me to the west. Now, this is our full complement until Bumblebee returns with everyone else. We are _all_ we have, just remember that. And above all, Autobots, show _no_ mercy. Pius's instructions were _very_ clear."

"I don't think we could show mercy even if Pius had ordered us to," Speed spat as he and Aquos headed to their post.

* * *

They hadn't been patrolling their respective areas for more than thirty minutes when the first inkling that trouble was coming hit each and every Autobot. Eyes were scanning the heavens and the earth as far as their sensors could see. Two minutes later the Sun was suddenly obliterated as a swarm arrived. It was all white save for a lone figure at the front of the V-shaped formation.

"Starscream," Ironhide whispered.

"And his Moonbots," Ratchet finished for him. They powered their weapons as Ratchet beeped his horn as loud and long as he could.

Speed and Aquos rocketed into the air. They were joined instantly by Lingo, Chitchat and Tank. "Here they come," Lingo said.

"I think we can see them," Speed said sarcastically.

"No, not them," Lingo said, pointing to the road that led up to their warehouse. "_Them_."

Everyone turned to look and each and every one of them smiled. "Our backup has just arrived," Tank said. "Speed, live up to your name and get them over here!"

"On it!" Speed called, transforming into his Bugatti Veyron self in mid-air and jamming his transmission into high gear as he hit the pavement.

"That's going to hurt later," Aquos remarked as they all turned back to where Starscream and his army hovered several hundred feet above and to the east of their position.

"What's he waiting for?" Ratchet ground out, guns at the ready.

"Probably trying to determine our complement," Lingo offered.

"He may know we have Demon," Ironhide said. "He could be detecting his signature."

"That's a safe bet," Tank said. "Maybe we can use him as a negotiating tool."

"Decepticons don't negotiate for hostages," Ratchet said. "You know that."

Tank raised an eyebrow. "Who said I was talking about negotiating for a hostage?"

"I like the way you think," Ratchet said. "What's the plan?"

Just then ten Moonbots came at them in a nosedive, all lined up in a row with laser cannons blazing. The Autobots flew into the air, up and around the line of Moonbots, firing relentlessly as they surrounded them.

Soon Brains, K-12 and Bumblebee joined them but a second line, this time of a dozen of the thin white robots, zoomed in and surrounded them. Every Autobot was taking their fair share of damage, but it was when Chitchat and Lady joined the fight that things went horribly wrong.

Unable to cry out when a missile from Starscream's left shoulder blasted a hole in her torso, Chitchat began to fall and hit Lady directly in the head, sending them tumbling to the Earth together. Lady screamed for help, bringing K-12 and Grandma to their aid. Bumblebee was surrounded by six Moonbots. Tank and Ratchet found themselves facing Starscream and the remaining sixteen Moonbots were chasing Aquos, Ironhide, Lingo and Speed all the way up into the exosphere and back down to skimming the tops of the foothills of Bee Canyon.

"I can't believe we're losing, why are we _losing_?" Speed hollered as he flew at lightning speed past Tank.

He watched four Moonbots zoom past him after Speed and shook his head. "What is it that's making them so much better than us?" he wondered aloud. Everyone who could fight _was_ fighting, yet they were being picked off like practice targets. What was so different about these drones? What was the thing that made them—? "Demon," he breathed. "He'll know." The thought was enough to force him to leave Ratchet alone with Starscream against his better judgment, race to the warehouse and bust through its wall, too impatient to wait for the door to open.

Sam and Mikaela jumped, both of them screaming in a rather feminine way, then started cursing at him for frightening them. "Never mind that," he said. "I need Demon awake _now_."

Nodding, Mikaela punched the commands Brains had taught her into the semi-upright table's console. Within seconds Demon's red eyes began to glow, the shutters and gears behind them opening, closing and clicking to and fro as he came to awakening consciousness. The fingers of both hands flexed.

He turned his head to look at Tank. "You have restored my mobility." Then he realized why as the sounds of machine guns and laser cannons came nearer the warehouse. "Starscream is attacking."

"Yes," Tank nodded as Sam and Mikaela looked on. "And he's winning."

"My Moonbots are well-designed."

"Tell me how they're beating us."

Demon looked at him for a moment and then nodded. "I meant to arm them with nuclear weapons, but had not yet brought them to the Moon when Starscream took over my factory."

"Nuclear weapons?" Sam squeaked. "Jesus H."

"I wanted to win," Demon said by way of explanation. "Over hundreds of years I developed a program that makes them smarter, faster and better than you in every way. They're using your own fighting techniques against you."

"By _Primus_," Tank exclaimed. "No wonder! You sorry excuse for scrap, you've doomed us all!"

"Not necessarily," Demon said, trying to figure a way out of bearing the brunt of Tank's wrath. "The fact that Starscream has equipped them with laser cannons rather than the nuclear weapons with casings meant to cover their chests means there will be no protection of their Sparks."

"Their Sparks," Mikaela repeated. Then she snapped her fingers and looked up at Tank. "That's it! Putting the first All Spark into Megatron's chest with _his_ Spark destroyed him. And _we_ still have eight shards!"

"Yes, but there are over forty Moonbots, not to mention Starscream," Tank said.

"We could break the biggest shard into small pieces," Sam said, not really realizing he'd come up with the solution.

"Break it," Tank said thoughtfully. "Break it how?"

"By touching the piece to a Cybertronic Spark within a living robot," Demon said. "And picking up the pieces in the aftermath."

"That would mean sacrificing one of our own to defeat Starscream."

"Optimus would do it in a heartbeat if he was here," Sam said.

"So would Pius or Commander…or any of us, I guess," Tank completed the thought.

"_No!_" Demon bellowed, making them all jump in surprise.

"What the hell?" Sam breathed, heart racing.

It took a few moments for Demon to speak. His eyes didn't leave the floor. "Allow me to offer myself as the one who breaks the All Spark shard into enough pieces to kill the Moonbots and Starscream."

"Why in the world would you sacrifice yourself for Autobots?" Tank asked incredulously.

"Not for Autobots, you _fool_!" Demon snapped, his eyes burning brighter. "The self-diagnostic I ran upon awakening has completed."

"Is there something wrong with you?" Mikaela asked.

"The stealth shield Megatron experimented with. I was the only Decepticon who survived his experiments. The shield was unstable and led to mental breakdowns and eventual self-destruction of all fifteen thousand subjects. All but me."

Tank frowned. "Do you mean it's breaking down now?"

"Yes," Demon said quietly, looking away. "I fear that I have very little time before I become mentally incapacitated. Starscream's attack upon me, and my subsequent death and rebirth, destabilized the shield." He looked back up into Tank's eyes. "Allow me to take my revenge upon the one who did this to me," he implored, "and to retain my dignity by dying on my _own_ terms."

"What if he's just trying to trick us?" Sam said, his voice belying his skepticism.

Tank shook his head. "No. It's no trick." He looked carefully at the display console of the semi-upright bed. "He's dying." With that, Tank unstrapped Demon from the table, but kept both guns aimed at him all the same.

"Give me the All Spark shard," Demon said. When no one moved, his voice rose. "Quickly! I have only ten minutes at the most!"

Sam and Mikaela looked to Tank, who nodded once. Sam ran to get the Energon cube, upon which the pieces of the original All Spark were still mounted with static electricity. He handed it to Tank, who reversed the polarity over the largest shard with his hand, allowing it fall into his open palm. He hesitated only a moment before holding it out to Demon.

Their eyes met as Demon took the shard into his hand. "Thank you," he said, moving toward the hole Tank had made blasting through the warehouse wall. He stopped at the opening, his head turning only slight as he added, "Brother."


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Final Victory**

It didn't take long for Tank to rejoin the other Autobots. To his horror, in the few minutes he'd been in the warehouse, several of them had been severely wounded and were in various stages of either trying to fix themselves or unconsciousness. Would Demon be too late, he wondered, looking up into the sky?

The standoff was on. Demon and Starscream faced each other thousands of feet up in the sky. The Moonbots were distracted with massacring the Autobots, leaving only the two Decepticons to deal with one another. It was with no small measure of shock and even pain that Tank watched Demon hurl himself at Starscream, knocking into him at the same moment he shoved the All Spark shard into his own chest.

The moment the All Spark remnant and Demon's Spark met, a brilliant white light exploded outward, momentarily blinding anyone who was looking in that direction. Little bits and pieces of what used to be Starscream and Demon fell from the sky like metallic rain. Clattering to the ground and skittering across the dirt and scrub grass, the pieces hit the Earth. With their tiny size and sheer number proving there could have been no survivors.

But the Moonbots, still acting on the last orders Starscream had given them, battled on. And they were winning. Tank tried his best to help Bumblebee, who was fighting with a serious leg injury. Ratchet and Aquos were defending a wounded Lingo, while Ironhide tended to Brains and K-12, who'd been hurt trying to find out if Lady and Chitchat were still alive.

Speed fell, thinking he'd rather join Chitchat anyway than survive without her.

Lingo was next, feeling like he'd just been hit by an asteroid.

Aquos came crashing to the ground with a loud crunch and groan as he felt several processors smash inside.

Bumblebee went headfirst into the warehouse roof, crashing right through it and hitting the concrete below with a sickening screeching grind of metal. Sam and Mikaela did what they could, but the fury of laser fire kept them inside the warehouse, where they worked to help Bumblebee remain conscious and alive.

Tank raced to the debris field that contained what was left of Demon and Starscream and managed to find a handful of pieces of the All Spark shard. Those firmly embedded in his left hand, he went for the two Moonbots looming over Bumblebee, quickly tossing All Spark bits into their Sparks. They exploded almost instantly.

But Tank wasn't expecting the massive shockwaves and was hurled back through the hole he'd created busting through the wall to get to Demon. Bumblebee managed to haul himself to his feet and stood over Tank, reaching a hand out. Tank smiled up at him, but when he let go, he left something in the bright yellow Autobot's hand. Bumblebee looked at him, puzzled.

"Flick one of these into a Moonbot's Spark and he'll do what these two just did." Tank rubbed the back of his head. "Only make sure you get away faster than I did."

"I'm on it!"

The two shot out of the warehouse and back into battle, but though they managed to take out half a dozen more Moonbots, the odds were stacked against them and Lady Luck was not on their side.

Tank was the only one left unharmed. He realized he had to do something to draw the Moonbots toward the Presidio Army base. It was their only hope of defeating them now. He turned to yell for Bumblebee, who in spite of his injuries was hurling a Moonbot against a large rock half buried in the nearest foothill. Before he knew what was happening, two Moonbots came at him from either side, smashing into his body. He wrenched free and managed to throw the last two pieces of All Spark into their chests and dart away.

As they exploded in a blaze of fire, white light and metal projectiles flying in every direction, Tank started feeling for the first time like this was way out of his league. Usually he'd turned to Commander for direction and surety, to Pius Prime for strength and resolve. But now he was alone with every single Autobot wounded to some degree, and over thirty Moonbots who, he suddenly realized, had _him_ in their sights.

Well, if he was going to go down, he reasoned, he was going to do it right. He held his arms straight out on either side of him and began whirling around vertically mid-air. At the same time he rotated horizontally. When he fired his laser cannons it created a death blossom. The Moonbots had no idea how to dodge the bullets and so retreated to seek direction.

But their leader was in thousands of pieces on the ground beneath them.

Tank noted their retreat and managed to slow himself until at last he was floating upright again. His stabilizers struggled to keep him that way, the gyroscopic processor completely confused by the constant spinning on all three axes.

He shook his head repeatedly to clear it, eyes closed against the dizziness. Then the sound of machine gun fire reached his ears. In his disoriented state, he thought it was the Moonbots coming after him again and whirled toward the sound with guns raised.

"Whoa, whoa, Tank! It's me!"

Tank froze. It couldn't be. His eyes opened. It was! "Commander?" he breathed, unable to believe his eyes. "Commander!"

In Raptor mode, the fighter jet Autobot was battle-scarred to be sure, but looked spades better than he had last time Tank had seen him. Looking beyond his returned brother, Tank saw both Optimus and Pius Prime blazing a trail through the Moonbots, felling them easily with their surprise attack.

Before his very eyes, the Primes sped off toward the Pacific Coast with each and every remaining Moonbot hot on their tails. "They're taking them to the Presidio."

"That they are," Commander replied, quickly transforming into his robot self. "We've got a lot of wounded."

"I think Chitchat and Lady are dead," Tank said sadly.

"Not for long," Commander said as he opened a compartment in his massive metal leg. He removed a small object and held it up. "Not when I have this."

"Damn, am I glad to have you back."

The two headed to the ground and stopped for a moment, just looking at each other. It was Commander who finally spoke. "You did a helluva job up there. That was some fancy flying and shooting."

Tank shook his head. "Yeah, but I nearly knocked myself out with that spin there."

Commander raised an eyebrow as they headed for Lady and Chitchat's still forms. The Primes had returned and the Army would have the remaining Moonbots obliterated soon enough. The Decepticons were gone for good and the Autobots had the second All Spark, which would soon heal their comrades.

Tank stood several feet back as Commander began using the All Spark to bring Lady back to life. And as he did, he thought back to what Pius had told them on the Moon, about the fact that Commander himself was now a Son of Prime. One of these days, he knew Commander would find out, but that revelation would have to come from Pius himself.

In the meantime, Tank had his back, just like he always had. And just like he always would.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The Great War is nearing its end. Today we leave this planet Earth, this place where we have found our brethren, where we have found a unique species in our new human friends.

We even learned that sometimes a foe can be our greatest ally.

With the second All Spark, a decision had to be made. And that decision now sees us returning to our beloved home planet Cybertron. We will restore it, we will defeat the remaining Decepticons, and we will right its orbit. It will be made whole again and we have the humans, ourselves and a Decepticon to thank for this miracle.

It was a difficult choice who should return home and who should remain here to ensure Earth's safety. It was, in the end, not my brother and I, the Primes, who made the decision. It was those who have followed us for centuries.

And so while I will miss the vitality of this small planet, Optimus and I, Ratchet and Ironhide, Commander and Tank, Lingo and Brains, K-12 and Grandma, Chitchat, Speed and Aquos…we are all going home. Cybertron will live again, and it will live in peace.


End file.
